Strigel and Neff win Cascade XC

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The Subaru Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) has been a major player in the mountain bike scene for over two decades. A lot of the reason for the success of WORS is because the series has adapted well to changes over the years. This weekend could not have proved that any better. Throughout the history of WORS, races have come and gone as well as changed formats several times.

In 2013, WORS added the Cascade XC in Portage Wisconsin. Not only was this event new for the regular WORS racers, but it was also the first event for the newly formed WIN Cycling. WIN Cycling is the Wisconsin Interscholastic mountain bike series for high school and junior high race teams.

The event started on Saturday September 28 with the WIN Cycling portion of the event. Kids from all over the state got their first chance to race with an affiliation to their school. WORS Director Don Edberg has been coaching and developing a team with his local high school, Steven's Point Area Senior High (SPASH). The SPASH team came out with good attendance along with several other area high school teams. Races varied on length between 4-12 miles depending on the category, which included middle school, junior varsity and varsity.

The second day brought the rest of the WORS racers to the starting line. This included the elite women's field as they climbed the many switchbacks of Cascade Mountain. Abby Strigel (Honey Stinger/Bontrager) came out to get the points for her eighth WORS race. With yet another win under her belt, Strigel has all but locked up the series overall win. Not far behind in the race was Lisa Krayer (Adventure 212/Specialized). Strigel and Krayer both had the advantage of living about half an hour from the venue and had some time to become familiar with the new course before the race.

In a heated battle for third place, Andrea Matter (Gear Grinder) and Sarah Agena (Twin 6/Cider Boys) fought for position. In the end, Matter out-climbed Agena to lock down the third step of the podium. Agena, who also assists in coaching the girls of the Spash mountain bike team, grabbed her third 4th place finish of the season.

The elite men's race once again showed some new faces in the lead. Isaac Neff (5Nines/Cannondale) took his first win of the season. The lead group at the start of the race included Neff along with Corey Stelljes (RACC/Gear Grinder), Nathan Guerra (Vision Pro Cycling), Joseph Maloney (KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin) and Justin Piontek (Titletown Flyers).

Maloney pushed hard in the beginning, but burned his matches quickly since he recently returned from racing in China. Stelljes and Neff led most of the race while Guerra followed in third and Piontek chased them down. Neff said that he had a slow start to his season. With cyclo-cross as his main discipline, Neff's fitness is developing later in the summer than someone that focuses more on cross country racing. This is to be his last WORS event of the year which was a win.

Stelljes had a bit of bad luck as he tried to hang with Neff and ended up burping some air from his front tire. After a few stops to try to add pressure, he was eventually overtaken by Guerra for second place. Stelljes cautiously rolled in with only about 10 pounds of pressure. Piontek took his best finish so far in the 2013 season with this fourth place.

WORS will conclude the 2013 next weekend in Sheboygan, Wisconsin with the Wigwam Challenge. For more information, please visit www.wors.org and www.wincycling.org.

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